Hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the inventive concept include 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapters that can include multiple M.2 solid state drive cards, which can be incorporated into existing enterprise servers without major architectural changes, thereby enabling the server industry ecosystem to easily integrate M.2 solid state drive technology into servers. Multiple M.2 solid state drive cards and a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) switch can be included within a 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter. The solid state drive multi-card adapters can be attached to or seated within drive bays of a computer server that supports non-volatile memory express (NVMe) 2.5 inch drives without any changes to the server architecture, thereby providing a straight-forward upgrade path.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.62/127,203, filed Mar. 2, 2015, and claims the benefit of U.S. PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/161,635, filed May 14, 2015, which are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present inventive concepts relate to enterprise server solutions,and more particularly, to hard disk drive form factor solid state drivemulti-card adapters for use with enterprise servers.

Enterprise servers provide computing and storage power for the Internet,the emerging Internet of Things, and myriad business intranets andapplications. To some extent, enterprise servers make possible theconveniences of modern civilization. For example, trucking andtransportation logistics rely heavily on enterprise computer servers.Internet searching, social networks, and social media also dependdirectly on a robust enterprise server infrastructure. These are but afew of the many industries that depend on such crucial computeresources.

But traditional enterprise server implementations lack density andperformance-centric storage capabilities, and have limited or no supportfor recent developments in solid state drives (SSDs). The industry stillheavily relies on magnetic hard disk drive (HDD) implementations.Developments in the SSD field have advanced storage technologies ingeneral, but are not easily adaptable to existing enterprise serverapplications without major architectural changes and large investmentsin infrastructure updates. Computer systems and associated peripheralenclosures support industry standard form factors for storage media,such as small form factor (SFF) 2.5 inch hard disk drives (HDDs) andlarge form factor (LFF) 3.5 inch HDDs.

The development of solid state drives (SSDs) as storage devices forcomputer systems and the potential for existing and emerging memorytechnologies such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), persistent RAM(PRAM), and the like, enable new form factors for storage devices, bothvolatile and non-volatile. The constraints of a motor and plattermechanics inherent to HDDs can be removed. Some conventional adaptersallow a device of one form factor to be used in a bay designed foranother (e.g., larger) form factor, but only allow connection of asingle device within the adapter. Embodiments of the present inventiveconcept address these and other limitations in the prior art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the inventive concept can include a hard disk drive formfactor solid state drive multi-card adapter. The hard disk drive formfactor can include, for example, a 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor,a 1.8 inch hard disk drive form factor, a 3.5 inch hard disk drive formfactor, or the like. It will be understood that any suitable hard diskdrive form factor can be adapted in accordance with embodiments of thepresent inventive concept. The solid state drive multi-card adapter caninclude a circuit board including a hard disk drive form factorconnector, an interface section such as a switch coupled to the circuitboard and electrically coupled to the hard disk drive form factorconnector, and one or more M.2 solid state drive connectors coupled tothe circuit board, electrically coupled to the interface section, andconfigured to receive one or more M.2 solid state drive cards.

Embodiments of the invention can include a computer server system. Thecomputer server system can include an enclosure including a plurality of2.5 inch form factor hard disk drive bays. The computer server systemcan further include a plurality of 2.5 inch form factor solid statedrive multi-card adapters configured to be seated within the drive bays,each of the solid state drive multi-card adapters having a plurality ofM.2 solid state drive cards.

Embodiments of the inventive concept can include a computer-implementedmethod for increasing storage capacity density in a computer server. Themethod can include receiving, by a 2.5 inch form factor solid statedrive multi-card adapter, information from an upstream port associatedwith a motherboard of the computer server. The method can includeexpanding, by an interface section of the 2.5 inch form factor solidstate drive multi-card adapter, the upstream port into a plurality ofdownstream ports. The method can include associating, by the 2.5 inchform factor solid state drive multi-card adapter, each of the downstreamports with a corresponding one of a first M.2 solid state drive card, asecond M.2 solid state drive card, and a third M.2 solid state drivecard. The method can include storing, by the first M.2 solid state drivecard, the second M.2 solid state drive card, and the third M.2 solidstate drive card, the information to one or more M.2 solid state drivechips associated with the first M.2 solid state drive card, the secondM.2 solid state drive card, and the third M.2 solid state drive card.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and additional features and advantages of the presentinventive principles will become more readily apparent from thefollowing detailed description, made with reference to the accompanyingfigures, in which:

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram of a 2.5 inch form factor solid statedrive multi-card adapter in accordance with embodiments of the inventiveconcept.

FIG. 2A is an example left side elevation view of some components of the2.5 inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of FIG. 1 inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 2B is an example right side elevation view of some components ofthe 2.5 inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of FIG. 1in accordance with embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 3 is an example perspective view of some components of the 2.5 inchform factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of FIG. 1 in accordancewith embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 4A is an example left side elevation view of some components of the2.5 inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of FIG. 1 inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 4B is an example right side elevation view of some components ofthe 2.5 inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of FIG. 1in accordance with embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 5 is an example perspective view of an example block diagram of acomputer server system including 2.5 inch form factor drive bays and 2.5inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapters in accordancewith embodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram including a technique for increasingstorage capacity density in a computer server in accordance withembodiments of the inventive concept.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a computing system including the 2.5 inchform factor solid state drive multi-card adapter(s) of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the inventiveconcept, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth to enable a thorough understanding of the inventive concept. Itshould be understood, however, that persons having ordinary skill in theart may practice the inventive concept without these specific details.In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components,circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not tounnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another. For example, a first multi-card module could betermed a second multi-card module, and, similarly, a second multi-cardmodule could be termed a first multi-card module, without departing fromthe scope of the inventive concept.

The terminology used in the description of the inventive concept hereinis for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is notintended to be limiting of the inventive concept. As used in thedescription of the inventive concept and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willalso be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to andencompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The components and featuresof the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Embodiments of the inventive concept include a hard disk drive formfactor solid state drive multi-card adapters that can include multiplesolid state drive cards, which can be incorporated into existingenterprise servers without major architectural changes, thereby enablingthe server industry ecosystem to easily integrate solid state drivetechnology into servers. The hard disk drive form factor can include,for example, a 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor, a 1.8 inch harddisk drive form factor, a 3.5 inch hard disk drive form factor, or thelike. It will be understood that any suitable hard disk drive formfactor can be adapted in accordance with embodiments of the presentinventive concept. The solid state drive cards can include M.2 solidstate drive cards. It will be understood that the type of solid statedrive cards generally referred to herein are M.2 solid state drivecards, any other suitable kind of solid state drive cards can be used.

Multiple M.2 solid state drive cards and an interface section can beincluded within a hard disk drive form factor solid state drivemulti-card adapter. The interface section can be a peripheral componentinterconnect express (PCIe) switch, although it will be understood thatany suitable kind of switch can be used. The solid state drivemulti-card adapters can be attached to or seated within drive bays of acomputer server that supports non-volatile memory express (NVMe) 2.5inch drives without any changes to the server architecture, therebyproviding a straight-forward upgrade path. In this manner, existingcomputer and peripheral enclosure infrastructure and ecosystems can bereused, but with increased capacity and performance. For servers thatsupport only serial attached SCSI (SAS) and serial ATA (SATA) magnetichard disk drives, a relatively simple backplane update can be made tobridge the PCIe/NVMe technology so that the server can access the M.2solid state drive cards of the multi-card adapters. Alternatively, insome embodiments, internal changes such as cabling or port upgrades canbe made to bridge the PCIe/NVMe technology without changes to thebackplane so that the server can access the M.2 solid state drive cardsof the multi-card adapters.

The 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-cardadapters provide a low-cost alternative to traditional magnetic HDDtechnology. In addition, using the multi-card adapters, users can attacha different number of solid state drive cards in each adapter, therebychanging the storage density based on capacity and performancerequirements. Due to the modular nature of the 2.5 inch hard disk driveform factor solid state drive multi-card adapters, users can expand orreduce storage capacity density as needed quickly and easily. Multipledevices can share a common adapter enclosure to optimize use of thevolume within a standard form factor size, and to provide greaterflexibility and functionality for use of the existing infrastructure forHDD form factors with diverse types and amounts of storage media.

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram of a 2.5 inch hard disk drive formfactor solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 in accordance withembodiments of the inventive concept. The solid state drive multi-cardadapter 105 can have a 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor. In otherwords, the solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 can be configured tofit within conventional 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor drive baysand can be compatible with enterprise server systems supporting suchform factors, but at a cost per unit of storage that is significantlyreduced, while having a level of performance that is significantlyincreased. It will be understood that while the form factor generallyreferred to herein is 2.5 inches, other form factors incorporating theinventive concept disclosed herein can be used. For example, the harddisk drive form factor can include, for example, a 1.8 inch hard diskdrive form factor, a 3.5 inch hard disk drive form factor, or the like.It will be understood that any suitable hard disk drive form factor canbe adapted in accordance with embodiments of the present inventiveconcept. The space within a server or peripheral enclosure into whichthe solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 can be inserted, isgenerally referred to herein as a drive bay, which is sometimes referredto in the industry as a drive slot.

The 2.5 inch solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 can include acircuit board 155 including a hard disk drive form factor connector 145.For example, the hard disk drive form factor connector 145 can be anSFF-8639 connector.

The solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 can include an interfacesection 140 coupled to the circuit board 155 and electrically coupled tothe hard disk drive form factor connector 145. The interface section 140can include a switch, such as a PCIe switch, a protocol switch, aprotocol hub, a protocol bus, a processing element, a serial attachedSCSI (SAS) expander, a SAS switch, a serial ATA (SATA) hub, or the like.The interface section 140 can route a data signal from the connector 145of the adapter 105 to one or more ports of one or more solid state drivecards (e.g., 110, 115, and 120). The interface section 140 candistribute the data signal to multiple interconnected devices (e.g.,110, 115, and 120). In some embodiments, the data signal can pass fromthe connector 145 of the adapter 105 to the devices within the adapter105 via the interface section 140 without modification.

The solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 can further include one ormore M.2 solid state drive connectors (e.g., 160, 165, and 170) that canbe coupled to the circuit board 155. The one or more M.2 solid statedrive connectors (e.g., 160, 165, and 170) can be electrically coupledto the interface section 140. The one or more M.2 solid state driveconnectors (e.g., 160, 165, and 170) can be configured to receive one ormore M.2 solid state drive cards (e.g., 110, 115, and 120).Alternatively or in addition, a solid state drive form factor drive thatfits within a server or peripheral enclosure can be used.

Each of the one or more M.2 solid state drive cards (e.g., 110, 115, and120) can be seated in a corresponding M.2 solid state drive connector(e.g., 160, 165, and 170). Each of the one or more M.2 solid state drivecards (e.g., 110, 115, and 120) can include one or more solid statedrive chips 125 configured to communicate via the interface section 140and the hard disk drive form factor connector 145.

The one or more solid state drive chips 125 can include, for example,one or more storage or memory devices. The one or more solid state drivechips 125 can include, for example, double data rate (DDR)-attachedmemory, SSD devices attached via PCIe, serial attached SCSI (SAS),serial ATA (SATA), SSD devices in M.2 or SFF form factors, HDD devices,persistent random access memory (PRAM) devices, resistive RAM (RRAM orReRAM), phase change RAM (PRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and/orother suitable types of memories and storage devices.

The solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 can be installed in anexisting server or storage enclosure that supports drive bays of astandard size and connector type, as further explained below. The one ormore solid state drive chips 125, which can include storage or memorydevices, can be discovered and/or used by the attaching server orstorage enclosure without modification to the physical configuration ofthe server or storage enclosure.

A drive connector 145 can be shared between the one or more solid statedrive cards (e.g., 110, 115, and 120), through which a single interfacecan be provided between the adapter 105 and the existing infrastructurewithin a server or storage enclosure. It will be understood that the oneor more solid state drive chips 125 can each include multiple physicaldata paths and/or interfaces, each with a separate connector, forexample, to allow redundancy. Such physical data paths and/or interfacescan be connected through each corresponding separate connector to thedrive connector 145.

The drive connector 145 can be shared among the one or more solid statedrive cards (e.g., 110, 115, and 120) and/or the one or more solid statedrive chips 125 by way of the interface section 140. As mentioned above,the interface section 140 can include a protocol switch, a protocol hub,a protocol bus, a processing element, or the like. The interface section140 and/or the one or more solid state drive chips 125 can include acompute resource 130, such as a system-on-a-chip (SOC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a multi-chip module, a special purposeapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like, within theadapter 105. The drive connector 145 can be shared among the one or moresolid state drive cards (e.g., 110, 115, and 120) and/or the one or moresolid state drive chips 125 by leveraging functionality provided by theSOC, FPGA, ASIC, or the like. The connector 145 can be connected to thecompute resource 130, which can provide access to and/or serve as anaggregation point for the one or more solid state drive cards (e.g.,110, 115, and 120) or other components within the adapter 105. It willbe understood that such a compute resource 130 can be included within,operate in tandem with, and/or in place of the interface section 140.

FIG. 2A is an example left side elevation view of some components of the2.5 inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 of FIG. 1in accordance with embodiments of the inventive concept. FIG. 2B is anexample right side elevation view of some components of the 2.5 inchform factor solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 of FIG. 1 inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive concept. Reference is nowmade to FIGS. 2A and 2B.

The solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 can include a first M.2solid state drive connector 170, which can be coupled to a first surface205 of the circuit board 155, as shown in FIG. 2B. The solid state drivemulti-card adapter 105 can include a second M.2 solid state driveconnector 160, which can be coupled to a second surface 210 of thecircuit board 155 that is opposite the first surface 205 of the circuitboard 155, as shown in FIG. 2A. The solid state drive multi-card adapter105 can include a third M.2 solid state drive connector 165, which canbe coupled to the second surface 210 of the circuit board 155 that isopposite the first surface 205 of the circuit board, as shown in FIG.2A.

FIG. 3 is an example perspective view of some components of the 2.5 inchform factor solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 of FIG. 1 inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive concept. The solid statedrive multi-card adapter 105 can include a first M.2 solid state drivecard 120, which can be seated in the first M.2 solid state driveconnector 170 that is coupled to the first surface 205 of the circuitboard 155. The solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 can include theinterface section 140, which can be coupled to the first surface 205 ofthe circuit board 155.

The solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 can include a second M.2solid state drive card 110, which can be seated in the second M.2 solidstate drive connector 160 (of FIG. 2) that is coupled to the secondsurface 210 of the circuit board 155. The solid state drive multi-cardadapter 105 can include a third M.2 solid state drive card 115, whichcan be seated in the third M.2 solid state drive connector 165 (of FIG.2) that is coupled to the second surface 210 of the circuit board 155.

FIG. 4A is an example left side elevation view of some components of the2.5 inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 of FIG. 1in accordance with embodiments of the inventive concept. FIG. 4B is anexample right side elevation view of some components of the 2.5 inchform factor solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 of FIG. 1 inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive concept. Reference is nowmade to FIG. 4A and 4B.

The interface section 140 can be coupled to the first surface 205 of thecircuit board 155. The interface section 140 can be electrically coupledto the first M.2 solid state drive card 120, electrically coupled to thesecond M.2 solid state drive card 110, and electrically coupled to thethird M.2 solid state drive card 115. The interface section 140 canexpand an upstream port to a multiple downstream ports, as furtherdescribed in detail below. Each downstream port can be associated with acorresponding one of the first solid state drive card 120, the secondM.2 solid state drive card 110, and the third M.2 solid state drive card115.

In some embodiments, the circuit board 155, the interface section 140,the first M.2 solid state drive card 120, the second M.2 solid statedrive card 110, the third M.2 solid state drive card 115, the first M.2solid state drive connector 170, the second M.2 solid state driveconnector 160, the third M.2 solid state drive connector 165, and thehard disk drive form factor connector 145 can substantially fit within a2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor.

The example 2.5 inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter105 herein can include a plurality M.2 solid state drive cards. In otherwords, a user can choose how many M.2 solid state drive cards to insertinto the M.2 solid state drive connectors. For example, if the user doesnot need as much storage density, then a single M.2 solid state drivecard (e.g., 120) can be inserted into the corresponding M.2 solid statedrive connector (e.g., 170), and the other two solid state driveconnectors (e.g., 160 and 165) need not be occupied by an M.2 solidstate drive card. Conversely, if the user requires additional storagedensity, or wishes to upgrade the amount of storage density at a latertime, then one or two more M.2 solid state drive cards (e.g., 110 and115) can be added to the multi-card adapter 105 and seated within thecorresponding M.2 solid state drive connectors (e.g., 160 and 165).

FIG. 5 is an example perspective view of an example block diagram of acomputer server system 500 including 2.5 inch form factor drive bays 525and 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-cardadapters 505 in accordance with embodiments of the inventive concept.The server system 500 can include an enclosure 510. The server system500 can include the 2.5 inch form factor drive bays 525 eitherinternally or externally relative to the enclosure 510.

The server system 500 can include multiple 2.5 inch form factor solidstate drive multi-card adapters 505, which can be seated within thedrive bays 525. In some embodiments, the server system 500 or othersuitable peripheral enclosure can provide a proscribed amount of dataconnectivity, management connectivity, power capacity, and/or thermalcapacity to each drive bay (e.g., 525). Each of the solid state drivemulti-card adapters 505 can have multiple M.2 solid state drive cards,as described above. The computer server system 500 can include amotherboard 530. The motherboard 530 can include multiple upstreamports, such as upstream port 515. The upstream ports can be PCIe X4upstream ports, for example. Each of the 2.5 inch form factor solidstate drive multi-card adapters 505 can include multiple downstreamports 520. Each of the downstream ports 520 can be a PCIe X4 downstreamport, for example.

Moreover, in the present example each of the downstream ports 520 can beassociated with a corresponding one of the plurality of M.2 solid statedrives (e.g., 110, 115, 120). The interface section 140 of each of the2.5 inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapters 505 canexpand an upstream port (e.g., 515) to multiple downstream ports (e.g.,520). Put differently, information 550 received from the upstream port515 can be stored on at least one of the plurality of M.2 solid statedrives via the downstream ports 520. In other words, the interfacesection 140 can fan out one upstream port to multiple downstream ports.In this manner, the storage capacity density can be increased.

Each solid state drive multi-card adapter 105 allows one or more storagedevices of a different form factor (e.g., solid state drive cards 110,115, and 120) to be integrated into existing computer servers and/orstorage enclosure platforms, such as the server system 500. Such systemscan provide space, power, cooling, and connectivity for storage devicesthat conform to a standard form factor. Examples can include industrystandard LFF 3.5 inch storage devices and/or SFF 2.5 inch storagedevices that are supported in matching drive bays on most moderncomputer servers. Additional examples include enclosure-standard drivebays such as a “cartridge” form factor. Alternatively or in addition,the storage device(s) such as the solid state drive cards (e.g., 110,115, 120 of FIG. 1) can conform to a standard defined by the serverenclosure or peripheral enclosure to allow a given device to operate inany one of a plurality of drive bays (e.g., 525) within a single systemtype and/or operate interchangeably in drive bays (e.g., 525) of othersystems of that same type.

In some embodiments, the standard form factor devices that the adapter105 is designed to physically match in form factor and connectivity, andthe like, can provide connectivity sufficient for a single device (e.g.,110 of FIG. 1) between that single device and the communicationsinfrastructure within the host computer server 500 or other suitablestorage enclosure. The single device (e.g., 110 of FIG. 1) can have morethan one data connection if the communication infrastructure within thehost computer server 500 or storage enclosure provides for multiple datapaths, such as for dual-headed serial attached SCSI (SAS) drives.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram including a technique for increasingstorage capacity density in a computer server (e.g., 500 of FIG. 5) inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive concept. The technique canbegin at 605, where a 2.5 inch form factor solid state drive multi-cardadapter (e.g., 105 of FIG. 1) can receive information (e.g., 550 of FIG.5) from an upstream port (e.g., 515 of FIG. 5) associated with amotherboard (e.g., 530 of FIG. 5) of the computer server. At 610, aninterface section (e.g., 140 of FIG. 1) of the 2.5 inch form factorsolid state drive multi-card adapter 105 can expand the upstream port515 into a plurality of downstream ports (e.g., 520 of FIG. 5).

At 615, the 2.5 inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter105 can associate each of the downstream ports 520 with a correspondingone of the plurality of M.2 solid state drive cards (e.g., 110, 115, and120 of FIG. 1). At 620, the plurality of M.2 solid state drive cards canstore the information 550 to one or more M.2 solid state drive chips(e.g., 125 of FIG. 1) associated with the plurality of M.2 solid statedrive cards. It will be understood that the steps need not occur in theillustrated order, but rather, can occur in a different order and/orwith intervening steps.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a computing system 700 including the 2.5inch form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter(s) 105 and 505 ofFIGS. 1 and 5. The computing system 700 can include a clock 710, arandom access memory (RAM) 715, a user interface 720, a modem 725 suchas a baseband chipset, a solid state drive/disk (SSD) 740, and/or aprocessor 735, any or all of which may be electrically coupled to asystem bus 705. The system bus 705 can be a high-speed bus and/orfabric. The 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor solid state drivemulti-card adapater(s) 505 can correspond to those described in detailabove, and as set forth herein, and may also be electrically coupled tothe system bus 705. The 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor solid statedrive multi-card adapater(s) 505 can include or otherwise interface withthe clock 710, the random access memory (RAM) 715, the user interface720, the modem 725, the solid state drive/disk (SSD) 740, and/or theprocessor 735.

The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, generaldescription of a suitable machine or machines in which certain aspectsof the inventive concept can be implemented. Typically, the machine ormachines include a system bus to which is attached processors, memory,e.g., random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), or other statepreserving medium, storage devices, a video interface, and input/outputinterface ports. The machine or machines can be controlled, at least inpart, by input from conventional input devices, such as keyboards, mice,etc., as well as by directives received from another machine,interaction with a virtual reality (VR) environment, biometric feedback,or other input signal. As used herein, the term “machine” is intended tobroadly encompass a single machine, a virtual machine, or a system ofcommunicatively coupled machines, virtual machines, or devices operatingtogether. Exemplary machines include computing devices such as personalcomputers, workstations, servers, portable computers, handheld devices,telephones, tablets, etc., as well as transportation devices, such asprivate or public transportation, e.g., automobiles, trains, cabs, etc.

The machine or machines can include embedded controllers, such asprogrammable or non-programmable logic devices or arrays, ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), embedded computers, smart cards,and the like. The machine or machines can utilize one or moreconnections to one or more remote machines, such as through a networkinterface, modem, or other communicative coupling. Machines can beinterconnected by way of a physical and/or logical network, such as anintranet, the Internet, local area networks, wide area networks, etc.One skilled in the art will appreciate that network communication canutilize various wired and/or wireless short range or long range carriersand protocols, including radio frequency (RF), satellite, microwave,Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 545.11,Bluetooth®, optical, infrared, cable, laser, etc.

Embodiments of the present inventive concept can be described byreference to or in conjunction with associated data including functions,procedures, data structures, application programs, etc. which whenaccessed by a machine results in the machine performing tasks ordefining abstract data types or low-level hardware contexts. Associateddata can be stored in, for example, the volatile and/or non-volatilememory, e.g., RAM, ROM, etc., or in other storage devices and theirassociated storage media, including hard-drives, floppy-disks, opticalstorage, tapes, flash memory, memory sticks, digital video disks,biological storage, etc. Associated data can be delivered overtransmission environments, including the physical and/or logicalnetwork, in the form of packets, serial data, parallel data, propagatedsignals, etc., and can be used in a compressed or encrypted format.Associated data can be used in a distributed environment, and storedlocally and/or remotely for machine access.

Having described and illustrated the principles of the inventive conceptwith reference to illustrated embodiments, it will be recognized thatthe illustrated embodiments can be modified in arrangement and detailwithout departing from such principles, and can be combined in anydesired manner. And although the foregoing discussion has focused onparticular embodiments, other configurations are contemplated. Inparticular, even though expressions such as “according to an embodimentof the inventive concept” or the like are used herein, these phrases aremeant to generally reference embodiment possibilities, and are notintended to limit the inventive concept to particular embodimentconfigurations. As used herein, these terms can reference the same ordifferent embodiments that are combinable into other embodiments.

Embodiments of the inventive concept may include a non-transitorymachine-readable medium comprising instructions executable by one ormore processors, the instructions comprising instructions to perform theelements of the inventive concepts as described herein.

The foregoing illustrative embodiments are not to be construed aslimiting the inventive concept thereof. Although a few embodiments havebeen described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate thatmany modifications are possible to those embodiments without materiallydeparting from the novel teachings and advantages of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to beincluded within the scope of this inventive concept as defined in theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter, comprising: a hard disk drive form factor connector; an interface section electrically coupled to the hard disk drive form factor connector; and one or more solid state drive connectors electrically coupled to the interface section, and configured to receive one or more solid state drive cards.
 2. The hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of claim 1, wherein: the one or more solid state drive connectors include one or more M.2 solid state drive connectors; the one or more solid state drive cards include one or more M.2 solid state drive cards; and each of the one or more M.2 solid state drive cards are configured to be seated in a corresponding M.2 solid state drive connector from among the one or more solid state drive connectors.
 3. The hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more solid state drive cards includes one or more solid state drive chips configured to communicate via the interface section and the hard disk drive form factor connector.
 4. The hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of claim 1, further comprising: a first solid state drive connector, from among the one or more solid state drive connectors; and a second solid state drive connector, from among the one or more solid state drive connectors.
 5. The hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of claim 4, further comprising: a first solid state drive card, from among the one or more solid state drive cards, seated in the first solid state drive connector; and a second solid state drive card, from among the one or more solid state drive cards, seated in the second solid state drive connector.
 6. The hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of claim 5, wherein the interface section is electrically coupled to the first solid state drive card, and electrically coupled to the second solid state drive card.
 7. The hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of claim 1, wherein the one or more solid state drive cards include a plurality of solid state drive cards, and wherein the interface section is configured to expand an upstream port to a plurality of downstream ports, each downstream port being associated with a corresponding solid state drive card from among the plurality of solid state drive cards.
 8. The hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of claim 7, wherein: the hard disk drive form factor connector is an SFF-8639 connector; the interface section is a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) switch; the upstream port is a PCIe X4 upstream port; and each of the plurality of downstream ports is a PCIe X4 downstream port.
 9. The hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter of claim 7, wherein the interface section, the plurality of solid state drive cards, and the one or more solid state drive connectors are configured to substantially fit within a hard disk drive form factor.
 10. A computer server system, comprising: an enclosure including one or more hard disk drive form factor bays; and one or more hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapters configured to be seated within the drive bays, at least one of the solid state drive multi-card adapters having one or more of solid state drive cards.
 11. The computer server system of claim 10, wherein each of the hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapters comprises: a hard disk drive form factor connector; an interface section electrically coupled to the hard disk drive form factor connector; and one or more solid state drive connectors, electrically coupled to the interface section, and configured to receive the one or more of solid state drive cards.
 12. The computer server system of claim 11, wherein: each of the hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapters is a 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter; the hard disk drive form factor connector is a 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor connector; the one or more solid state drive connectors include one or more M.2 solid state drive connectors; the one or more solid state drive cards include one or more M.2 solid state drive cards; and each of the M.2 solid state drive cards are configured to be seated in a corresponding M.2 solid state drive connector from among the one or more M.2 solid state drive connectors.
 13. The computer server system of claim 11, wherein each of the one or more of solid state drive cards includes one or more solid state drive chips configured to communicate via the interface section and the hard disk drive form factor connector.
 14. The computer server system of claim 11, wherein each of the hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapters further comprises: a first solid state drive connector, from among the plurality of solid state drive connectors; and a second solid state drive connector, from among the plurality of solid state drive connectors.
 15. The computer server system of claim 14, wherein each of the hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapters further comprises: a first solid state drive card, from among the plurality of solid state drive cards, seated in the first solid state drive connector; and a second solid state drive card, from among the plurality of solid state drive cards, seated in the second solid state drive connector.
 16. The computer server system of claim 14, further comprising: a motherboard including a one or more of upstream ports, wherein each of the hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapters includes one or more downstream ports each associated with a corresponding one of the one or more solid state drive cards, and wherein the interface section of each of the hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapters is configured to expand an upstream port from among the one or more upstream ports to the one or more downstream ports.
 17. A computer-implemented method for increasing storage capacity density in a computer server, the method comprising: receiving, by a hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter, information from an upstream port associated with a motherboard of the computer server; expanding, by an interface section of the hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter, the upstream port into one or more of downstream ports; and associating, by the hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter, each of the downstream ports with a corresponding solid state drive card from among a plurality of solid state drive cards.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising: storing, by plurality of solid state drive cards, the information to one or more solid state drive chips associated with the plurality of solid state drive cards.
 19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, further comprising: communicating, by the one or more solid state drive chips, via the interface section and a hard disk drive form factor connector of the hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter.
 20. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein the hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter is a 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter, the one or more solid state drive chips include one or more M.2 solid state drive chips, and wherein expanding further comprises: expanding, by the interface section of the 2.5 inch hard disk drive form factor solid state drive multi-card adapter, the upstream port into one or more of downstream ports associated with the one or more M.2 solid state drive chips. 